Alysa felt sure of herself as she approached the door to her teacher's private chambers.
To notice that might never have occurred to her, if it weren't so rare--in fact, she couldn't remember it ever having happened before. As one of the most powerful sorcerers in the Empire, her mistress, Tanis, wasn't one to inspire confidence in those she spoke with. It wasn't that she went out of her way to intimidate, but being a little cautious around someone who could rewrite reality with a thought and a word as effectively as Tanis could was just good sense. The fact that her mistress was renowned in particular as an expert in sexual magic and a stunning beauty didn't help, either; watching people try to talk to her while simultaneously flustered and afraid had been a source of endless amusement to Alysa throughout her apprenticeship. Until yesterday, she'd been far from immune to it herself, but that evening over her supper, she'd been suddenly struck by an epiphany about a formula that had had her teacher stumped for nearly a month, and by what she still suspected was pure blind luck, her suggestion had somehow worked. Though she'd quickly ushered Alysa out of her study to put the breakthrough to use, Tanis had mentioned needing some time to think of a suitable prize for her pupil. Today at breakfast, she'd told Alysa to come back again that afternoon, and Alysa wouldn't have been accepted to learn magic in the first place if she wasn't smart enough to know what that would be about.
A smile touching the buxom, fair-skinned blonde woman's plump lips, she raised a knuckle to the wood of the door and knocked thrice. "Mistress?" she called through the closed portal. "You wanted to see me?"
To notice that might never have occurred to her, if it weren't so rare--in fact, she couldn't remember it ever having happened before. As one of the most powerful sorcerers in the Empire, her mistress, Tanis, wasn't one to inspire confidence in those she spoke with. It wasn't that she went out of her way to intimidate, but being a little cautious around someone who could rewrite reality with a thought and a word as effectively as Tanis could was just good sense. The fact that her mistress was renowned in particular as an expert in sexual magic and a stunning beauty didn't help, either; watching people try to talk to her while simultaneously flustered and afraid had been a source of endless amusement to Alysa throughout her apprenticeship. Until yesterday, she'd been far from immune to it herself, but that evening over her supper, she'd been suddenly struck by an epiphany about a formula that had had her teacher stumped for nearly a month, and by what she still suspected was pure blind luck, her suggestion had somehow worked. Though she'd quickly ushered Alysa out of her study to put the breakthrough to use, Tanis had mentioned needing some time to think of a suitable prize for her pupil. Today at breakfast, she'd told Alysa to come back again that afternoon, and Alysa wouldn't have been accepted to learn magic in the first place if she wasn't smart enough to know what that would be about.
A smile touching the buxom, fair-skinned blonde woman's plump lips, she raised a knuckle to the wood of the door and knocked thrice. "Mistress?" she called through the closed portal. "You wanted to see me?"